FanHouse

John Harbaugh: Cowboys Are Everything That's Wrong With the NFL

Josh Alper — 2009-11-06T17:15:00 00:00

On the eve of a Sunday night NFC East showdown in Philadelphia, the Cowboys have gotten some bulletin board material via a comparison of their franchise and the Eagles. Strangely enough, the inflammatory statements weren't made by anyone with current ties to the Eagles, but by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh, a former Eagles assistant, was asked for a new book what made the Eagles more successful than the Cowboys over the last 10 years. Matt Mosley of ESPN.com shares the answer.

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: There Will Be Blood

Josh Alper — 2009-11-03T15:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL Power Rankings

Someone has probably said before that you can't tell anything about the NFL playoff picture until the baseball season comes to a close. If they haven't, I just did and humbly submit that it should be the new credo of football watchers everywhere. The World Series will end before Week 9 kicks off, and it is a week suitably stuffed with games that will actually allow us to do more than guess about the fortunes of the NFL's 32 teams.

Blood will be spilled, hopes will be dashed and these power rankings will look radically different when this week's slate of games are completed. It's finally time to start seperating the men from the boys.

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Philly Paper Isn't Into Waiting Around For Actual World Series Results

Josh Alper — 2009-11-02T17:35:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Phillies, Yankees, MLB Media Watch, World Series

Excited for the fifth game of the World Series on Monday night? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the cat is already out of the bag. The Phillies win. They win Game 6 on Wednesday night, too. And in an epic battle of baseball goodness that your grandchildren will tire of hearing you talk about, they win Game 7 and repeat as world champions.

I'm not making predictions here, people, this is all true. Why else would the Philadelphia Inquirer be running ads, via PhillyTalk.com, advertising a sale on T-shirts and other memorabilia celebrating the momentous occasion hours after Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez teamed up to beat Brad Lidge and give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the World Series?

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Cliff Lee's Catch: Proof He Had Everything Working Wednesday Night

Josh Alper — 2009-10-29T12:30:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Phillies, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, World Series

You can look at Cliff Lee's pitching line from Wednesday night's Game 1 win against the Yankees and know that he pitched well. During the game, though, you didn't need to do anything more than catch a closeup of Lee's face to know that he was in a serious groove. All game he wore the look of the guy who knew that he had his best stuff working and that he wasn't afraid who knew it.

If the look on the face or the darts he was throwing didn't convince you, there was always this play:

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Return of The Kings

Josh Alper — 2009-10-27T15:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL Power Rankings

Look past the undefeated teams at the top of the Week 8 NFL Power Rankings, and you'll see a pair of familiar faces staring back at you in the fourth and fifth spots. Mike Tomlin and Bill Belichick have navigated some choppy early season waters and righted two of the AFC's stalwart ships in time to ensure that there won't be any dramatic changing of the guard in that conference this season. In both cases, it's been about getting back to basics.

The Steelers defense quieted its critics with a shutdown performance against the Vikings on Sunday, while the Patriots offense has looked like the 2007 version while ringing up blowout victories on both sides of the Atlantic. They're still looking up at the Colts and Broncos, of course, but if those are the top four when we get to January it should be a pretty spectacular fight for the AFC Championship.

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Jim Zorn Safe Until at Least After Season

Josh Alper — 2009-10-23T10:59:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Redskins, NFC East, NFL Coaching

It looks like we can call off the Jim Zorn Deathwatch. For the next couple of days anyway.

Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said on his ESPN980 radio show Friday morning that Zorn won't be fired before the 2009 season reaches its conclusion.

"Let me start by making a few things very perfectly clear: Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins, and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future."

Cerrato's hardly an impartial party to this decision. When and if Zorn gets fired and when and if Daniel Snyder brings in the big-name coach everyone expects he'll bring in as a replacement, Cerrato will be the next head on the chopping block.

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Pigeon Plays Special Teams for Raiders

Josh Alper — 2009-10-20T18:10:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL

Al Davis has gotten a pretty bad rap when it comes to personnel acumen over the last few years thanks to ill-advised trades and free agent signings. The video below may change your mind about the Raiders owner, however.

Many players have been described as being so fast that they fly downfield, none of them have literally done it. Until now, that is.

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Who Dat? The Saints in the Top Spot

Josh Alper — 2009-10-20T15:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL Power Rankings

The Saints are a clear choice for the top spot after the beating they put on the Giants Sunday, but things are a bit murkier thereafter. How good are the Vikings if their defense can't put teams away? Was that the worst of the Giants, or just the tip of the iceberg for a team that didn't play anyone all that good for the first five weeks? How did everyone in the country not named Josh McDaniels miss so badly on a Broncos team that looks better and better every week?

The clarity isn't helped much by an increasingly muddy midsection in each league. You've got teams like the Jets and Eagles making a mockery of their supporters and teams like the Jaguars and Cardinals offering reminders that a bad week or two early doesn't mean that all is lost. We're coming up fast on midseason and, as it should be, there are more questions than answers in the NFL.

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Kris Jenkins Done for Season

Josh Alper — 2009-10-19T17:30:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Jets, AFC East, NFL Injuries

The suddenly reeling New York Jets are going to have to try and get back on track without their immense nose tackle Kris Jenkins. Jenkins tore the ACL in his left knee during the Jets' dispiriting 16-13 overtime loss to the Bills on Sunday and he was placed on injured reserve Monday afternoon which ends his 2009 season.

"It comes with the game," Jenkins said. "My feelings are hurt that I won't be able to be out there fighting with my teammates."

His teammates might be finding it a lot harder to win their future fights without Jenkins occupying the middle of the line. They'll have to figure something out, though, because there's not much chance of swinging a deal before Tuesday's trade deadline.

More: Seahawks LB Tatupu's Year Finished, Too

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Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan Bounced From Yankee Playoff Games

Josh Alper — 2009-10-16T12:50:00 00:00

by Josh AlperThanks to an Anti-Semitic comment, longtime Yankee Stadium playoff fixture Ronan Tynan will not be in attendance when the Yankees and Angels kick off the American League Championship Series on Friday night.

Tynan, well-known for his addition of obscure extra lyrics to "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch, got into hot water after a run-in with a real estate broker trying to sell an apartment in his New York City building. Here are the particulars, as reported by NBC New York.

The real estate agent said to the tenor, famous for his association with Yankees, "Don't worry they are not Red Sox fans," according to the apartment-hunter, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson.

To which Tynan replied, "I don't care about that, as long as they are not Jewish," Gabrielle Gold-von Simson told NBC New York. "Why is that?" asked a flabbergasted Gold-von Simson of the singer.

And Tynan responded that Jewish ladies had been looking at the apartment before and they were "scary," according to Gold-von Simson.

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 6: Showdown Up Top

Josh Alper — 2009-10-15T15:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL Power Rankings

If the NFL were college football, this weekend's matchup between the Giants and Saints would be a de facto National Championship game hyped to the heavens and back. Unlike the NCAA, though, the NFL decides its championship via football and not ballots which means that it is merely a great Week 6 contest that will help settle the top rung in mythical power rankings and, perhaps, serve as a whistle wetter for a NFC Championship Game.

It's still good stuff, but the most notable thing about the current state of power in the NFL these days is how few teams have any of it. There are an awful lot of no-hopers before the second month of the season has been completed which doesn't do much for the long-standing idea of parity being the end all, be all of the NFL.

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Angels Rotation Tilting Left for ALCS

Josh Alper — 2009-10-13T18:30:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Angels, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series

There was a lot of talk about the amount of home runs hit over the right field fence in the new Yankee Stadium this season, and it seems that Angels manager Mike Scioscia has heard a great deal of it. He's shuffling his rotation from the order he used during the Division Series to get a lefty starter on the mound for Saturday's Game 2 of the ALCS.

Scioscia said Tuesday that the Angels would start either Scott Kazmir or Joe Saunders with Jered Weaver dropping back one game and starting the first game in Anaheim. The hope of neutralizing Yankees power heading toward the short porch is definitely the prime reason for the move, though there are other considerations that probably played into Scioscia's decision.

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Jon Gruden Atop Dan Snyder's Wish List To Coach Redskins?

Josh Alper — 2009-10-13T12:55:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Redskins, NFL Coaching, NFL Rumors

The first five weeks of the season have led to the widespread belief that Jim Zorn's got about as much time left in the nation's capital as a Congressman found in a hotel room with three dead prostitutes. That means that speculation about his possible replacement has ramped up to a fevered pitch and, since the Redskins are owned by Daniel Snyder, it's focused on only the biggest available names.

Tuesday brings a report from the Washington Examiner that sources close to Snyder have placed former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden at the top of the owner's wish list. It's not hard to figure out why that report would surface on a Tuesday.

Last night was Monday Night Football, after all.

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American League Championship Series: L.A. Angels vs. New York Yankees

Josh Alper — 2009-10-13T06:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Angels, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series

When scanning potential storylines for the ALCS, it's unlikely too many people preferred the angle of "Bobby Abreu tries to punish his former teammates" over the resumption of Red Sox-Yankees unpleasantries, but it'll have to do. The Angels and Yankees showed few holes in their first-round wins, and there's little doubt that we're getting the best the American League has to offer.

It should be a fascinating matchup. The contrast in offensive styles between the Angels, who put pressure on the opposition by taking extra bases and forcing miscues, and the Yankees' power is always fun to watch. It will be on the two pitching staffs, neither of which did well against the other team's hitters in the 5-5 split of the season series, to keep those offenses in check.

The team that does a better job of that will be the last American League team standing. Let's start trying to figure out who that's going to be, shall we?

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American League Division Series: Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees

Josh Alper — 2009-10-06T23:21:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Twins, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Division Series

The Metrodome lives!

Remarkably, the Minnesota Twins play on to the playoffs after their monumental September comeback. They caught and then passed the Tigers thanks to a victory in the epic, 12-inning one-game playoff on Tuesday evening. They don't get a long time to celebrate, however, as they have to turn around and take on the Yankees on Wednesday night in the Bronx.

Continuing the magical run will be a tall order for the AL Central champs. The playoff push leaves them starting the unsung Brian Duensing in Game 1, they don't have Justin Morneau in the middle of the order and they drew the best team in baseball as their opponents. Everyone assumes the Yankees are licking their chops at the prospect of the Twins, but a short series can be a great leveler. Will that be the case this time?

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Thanks to A.J. Burnett, Jose Molina Gets Playoff Start

Josh Alper — 2009-10-06T17:15:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Yankees, AL East, American League Division Series

When September opened, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Yankees was how much they could trust A.J. Burnett in a big playoff start. He'd just flopped at Fenway Park for the second time, calling into question his fitness under the spotlight and making some Yankee fans worry about their investment in the right-hander.

Those fears subsided thanks to Burnett's strong final month, however. He went 3-1 with a 3.83 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings pitched. What was the difference? Jose Molina was wearing the tools of ignorance for all but one of the seven September outings while Jorge Posada sat on the bench, which is why he'll get the start with Burnett on the mound in Game 2 of the ALDS.

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MLB Attendance Down More Than 6 Percent in 2009

Josh Alper — 2009-10-05T18:15:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: MLB Biz

Major League Baseball welcomed 73,364,441 fans into stadiums this season, the fifth-highest total in the history of the game. That sounds great, until you realize that the total attendance numbers dropped 6.65 percent for the year, the steepest drop since 1952. Before you start sounding the recession alarm, however, it's important to note that there wasn't much chance of baseball avoiding a decline this season.

The Mets and Yankees each moved into new, smaller ballparks this season, moves which cost baseball more than 20,000 seats in total. As Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball points out, even if each team had sold out every seat this season there wasn't much chance of baseball not seeing a downturn in attendance. As it was, the two New York teams accounted for 30 percent of the total decline.

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FOX Invites You to Watch a Game They Aren't Broadcasting

Josh Alper — 2009-10-01T17:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Sports Media, Sports Advertising, NFL

If you were the type of person who got all of their information from billboards, you'd be a severely uninformed individual. You'd also be sitting down on the couch on Sunday afternoon and dialing up whatever TV a billboard told you was the best to FOX to watch Brett Favre and the Vikings take on the Green Bay Packers. Sadly, that game would never come and you'd wind up punching your hand through the TV before heading off to the nearest billboard-approved medical center to get your hand stitched up.

That's because FOX, despite what this billboard spotted in Washington D.C. tells you, isn't televising the Vikings-Packers game during Week 4 of the NFL season. And also because the game isn't on Sunday, it's on Monday night. So the whole billboard just proves that Terry Bradshaw is both bald and a bald-faced liar, right?

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 4: The Lions Have Left The Basement

Josh Alper — 2009-10-01T14:00:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: NFL Power Rankings

There's a feeling of deja vu at the top of the rankings this week as each of the top four teams won and, therefore, held their positions. The biggest changes come at the rear where the Lions are finally looking down at something other than the bottom of the page. And it's not going too far out on a limb to say that their replacements will be a regular resident at the caboose of the rankings. The Browns are in disarray, more so than usual even, and show few signs of hope.

For those of you who are bored with the same old, same old up top, this week promises at least one change with the Saints and Jets facing off in a battle of undefeateds. The Ravens are in New England and the Broncos host the Cowboys, which might mean major changes in the top ten when next week's rankings come down the pike.

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Change of Script: Jets Become Targets of Smack Talk

Josh Alper — 2009-09-26T11:15:00 00:00

by Josh Alper

Filed under: Jets, Titans

Comments from Titans fullback Ahmard Hall have eliminated any doubt. One of the running themes of this year's NFL season is going to be trash talk and the New York Jets. Up until this point, the Jets have been the ones running their mouths with the explicit approval of new coach Rex Ryan, but it was inevitable that some of it would get lobbed back in their direction.

We thought it happened last week, but it turned out to be a fake Rodney Harrison doing the tweeting. Now, though, we've got our first actual return of fire. Hall isn't a fan of Jets linebacker Bart Scott's running on-field commentary. On the eve of this Sunday's game, Hall told Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean exactly why.

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